Options in Steller sea lion recovery and groundfish fishery management
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概要
- 論文の詳細を見る
Recovery of the Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) population in Alaska constitutes a significant challenge to resource managers since the cause (s) of the decline remain a mystery. However, a principal symptom of the population, increased juvenile sea lion mortality, appears to be related to changes in food availability. Such changes may be due to natural shifts in fish community composition, anthropogenic factors, or both. Commercial groundfish fishing is the primary annually-occurring human activity in this region that has a high potential for competitive interactions with sea lions. Consequently, it has received considerable management attention in efforts to recover the Steller sea lion population. In 1991-93, trawl exclusion zones were created around sea lion rookeries and some groundfish catch quotas were allocated spatially and temporally to minimize the likelihood of localized depletions of sea lion prey. These initial measures partitioned some fishing effort away from sea lion habitats, but the conservation benefits remain uncertain. In this paper, we explore the various options available to managers for further reducing sea lion-fishery interactions using traditional fisheries management tools. Recent trends in groundfish fishery distribution and information on sea lion distributions and foraging ranges suggest several areas of overlap which could be addressed through modified fishing practices. These could include changes in trawl gear size and reductions in total catches of certain groundfish species, as well as spatial and temporal distribution of groundfish catch tuned to seasonal changes in sea lion distribution and foraging range. These measures, in combination, offer mechanisms to more completely incorporate the results of the past decade's research efforts on Steller sea lions in the existing fisheries management framework.
- 野生生物保護学会の論文
著者
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Fritz Lowell
National Marine Fisheries Service Alaska Fisheries Science Center
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Ferrero Richard
National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Fisheries Science Center
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Ferrero Richard
National Marine Fisheries Service Alaska Fisheries Science Center